1. Comprehension Check for Reading 1
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T 6. F 7. F 8. T 9. T 10. F
2. Translation
1. 我妈常说，一个孩子挨一次批评就需要5次表扬，在这一点上她也一直身体力行。不是说我从来不挨批评、有错也没人指出。也不是说不该表扬的地方也表扬。 2. 他要是称赞我漂亮，我也许会觉得不必再去减掉那几斤赘肉。他乒乓训练时表现错如果受到表扬，那下次比赛就不会有进步。这种观念对我来说匪夷所思。 3. 他对我说他爱我，由于不是天天说，我常常觉得自己是做出某种努力才换来他这么说的。
4. 我觉得陌生的事，老公R很看重。现在我们有了孩子要一起抚养，希望我们的孩子Z能收获两个世界的文化精粹。
Reading 2
Comprehension Check for Reading 2
1. She lacks speaking skills and she doesn't read Chinese at all. She blames that on three reasons: her companies always failed to provide her with Chinese language courses, she was not taught Chinese in the right way, and mandarin tones are crazy. 2. She can't hear the difference in tones.
3. She found out that she can learn pronunciation and vocabulary in the way children learn English, that is, by means of rhyme, songs, etc., for rhyming and singing tones is much easier to memorize.
4. Because singing pop songs is a great way to learn Chinese, and as a bonus, she can impress Chinese friends at KTV.
Integrated Skills Practicing I. Viewing & Listening Cultural difference In China In the U.S. Friendship A lot of people don't have big groups A lot of people in America have 6
of friends, but a very small group of many friends, but they may not be friends, with whom they are close, or they are close with just extremely everything. People tend to do things with the considerations of others in mind first. Collectivism individualism vs. They'll get the opinion of others before they decide on doing something. Others are at least as important as themselves. Taking compliments People don't like to take People are glad to hear Americans are very individualistic. What \want is definitely higher than what anyone else wants. close and share one or two. compliments. compliments. People are very punctual. They Sensitivity to time People are a little more lax. They don't tend to plan things well. always look at their watch or phone to figure out what time it is. They like to set and meet deadlines. Being late is not OK.
Transcript:
Hey guys, this video is about cultural differences between America and China. I just happen to be from America but I'm sure a lot of you guys who are not from America, you know, just from the West in general, maybe Europe or something, this could probably apply to your country as well.
One thing I have noticed that is different culturally is friendship. Friendship is a little… it seems to be a little bit different here. In America we just kind of casually just say, oh yeah that guy is my friend, that guy is my friend, oh she is my friend, totally, like, so I have like 500 friends in America. And… but I'm not really close with any of them. Maybe this is just my fault or something. But in, and I've just noticed that, like, a lot of people in America have their friends, but they're not terribly close with a lot of them. Maybe one, or two. But I've noticed in China that a lot of people don't have big groups of friends. They don't casually just say, oh that guy's my friend, that guy's my friend, that guy is my friend, she's my friend. They don't do that with their friendships. They'll have, you know, a very, very small group of friends, but those friends that
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they have will be extremely, extremely close, that they will share everything with. Ahmn, so yeah, there is a less casual way of approaching friendship in China that I've noticed.
One thing that I've noticed that is really different between China and America is the difference between individualism and collectivism and… or like duty to the family, or something like that. And in America we are very individualistic. We say, I want to do this and I want to do that. I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, ‘cause it'll make me happy, that's what I want to do. But in China, people tend to do things with the considerations of others in mind first. They'll get the opinion of others before they decide on doing something, and they'll say, you know, is this good for my family, is this good for other people. And so Chinese people it seem... they think about others more than themselves. Or others are at least as important as themselves. So it's a big difference.
Another little cultural difference that I've noticed in China is very small, it's not that important, but, it is there. It's the nature of taking compliments. In China, people don't really take compliments. If you say to eh... somebody, hey, your English is so good, or you're… you look so nice today, or something like that, they'll, they'll, kind of, they'll go, um, well, my English is, that's OK, or, they'd say, oh it's an old dress, these are old clothes. You know, Chinese people don't like to take compliments. They'll say, if you are speaking in Chinese, they'll say, 哪里哪里, which means like, where, where, like where is this person you're talking about. So, but in America, and in the West, if you say, oh man, you look really nice these days, well, oh, great, thanks, you know, thanks for noticing. Or your Chinese is so good. Oh, well thank you. You know I practiced a lot. It's great. So, yeah, that's another difference, and one that's really small, you will notice it in everyday life, it's very common.
The thing that I'm going to end with today is about time. I'm going to talk about time and the way that people are sensitive to time in China. It's a little different than in America. In America we are very punctual, we're very, very time-oriented, people are always looking at their watch or their phones or something, always trying to figure out what time it is. You know, if you say, hey I need this report, I need this thing on my desk by Monday at 8 o'clock, or I need it by the end of the day today. In America, we'll get that done, we'll… it'll be done. And if you say, hey, we are gonna meet at 8 o'clock, we are gonna do this and do this, Americans, we will be there at 8
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o'clock, we'll be there early, absolutely, absolutely. Being late is not ok. But in China they are a little more lax. Eh, they don't tend to plan things as well. For example, a lot of my friends who teach at different universities all around China, they have told me, and I also have experiences, like, the weekend, the weekend before school starts, so school starts Monday, and then, say it's Friday, or it's Saturday, I still haven't received my class schedule, I haven't received name lists for class, I haven't received really important stuff, you know. And, that's just the lack of planning and organization. They just say, oh, we'll get to it eventually. And that's pretty common. And I've experienced this, you know, myself, and a lot of my friends who work in China, they've noticed this as well.
And that closes up this video of cultural differences between China and America. I hope you found it interesting and informative.
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